I am currently sitting in an Au Bon Pain while stuck in the Philly airport on a layover that used to be 50 minutes but was "upgraded" to 5 hours upon my arrival. Thanks, US Airways, for the awesome perk! The wifi login page here has helpfully informed me that "Au Bon Pain is a stylish bakery café located at America's urban junctions and suburban crossroads." I wonder how much somebody got paid to compose such expertly vague prose; if s/he published a terrible bodice-ripper, or any fiction really, I'd definitely buy it for the lolz. I also tremble to think what all those poor slobs without a "junction" or "crossroad" in the vicinity do when they wish to obtain coffee and pastries.
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot lately about challenging situations and how well they reveal one's true nature. It's relatively easy to be agreeable when we are warm, dry, fed, and feel that things are going our way. It's when the man upstairs throws an inconvenient, dangerous, or otherwise unpleasant occurrence into the mix that things get interesting. We start to get a sense of our patience and our grit.
Having had a relatively easy and pleasant life so far in most ways, I guess I haven't been as fully "tested" as some others yet. Sometimes I wonder how I would perform in a truly difficult situation. My level of stress and annoyance today over a fairly minor and routine occurrence (a late flight and a missed connection) concerned me a little. I got over it pretty quickly and tried my best to be kind to the poor airline customer service person (unlike many others around me), but still. I want to be graceful. Not necessarily in the dancer way, but in my attitude toward life and others. So, this is my prayer today. For gratitude in these trying moments where we are most teachable. For more grace to temper the mettle as I, and we, muddle through this mortal experience.
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot lately about challenging situations and how well they reveal one's true nature. It's relatively easy to be agreeable when we are warm, dry, fed, and feel that things are going our way. It's when the man upstairs throws an inconvenient, dangerous, or otherwise unpleasant occurrence into the mix that things get interesting. We start to get a sense of our patience and our grit.
Having had a relatively easy and pleasant life so far in most ways, I guess I haven't been as fully "tested" as some others yet. Sometimes I wonder how I would perform in a truly difficult situation. My level of stress and annoyance today over a fairly minor and routine occurrence (a late flight and a missed connection) concerned me a little. I got over it pretty quickly and tried my best to be kind to the poor airline customer service person (unlike many others around me), but still. I want to be graceful. Not necessarily in the dancer way, but in my attitude toward life and others. So, this is my prayer today. For gratitude in these trying moments where we are most teachable. For more grace to temper the mettle as I, and we, muddle through this mortal experience.
You and me both. AMEN!! <3
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